A frog that watched a bullock grazing near resolved she'd try her best to match his girth and height. She was an envious1 frog. See how she puffs2 and swells3 and strains with all her might.

　　"Come, tell me, quickly dear, am I as big as he?" she asks a froggy friend.

　　"Oh no, my dear, not nearly."

　　"Now just you watch me stretch! Look close, and tell me clearly. Well, then! You see? I'm filling out?"

　　"It don't seem much to me."

　　"Well -- now?"

　　"Just like you were at first."

　　At last her wild attempts the bounds of nature passed, she never swelled4 to bullock's size, but strained so hard, she cracked and burst.

　　She's not the first, and not the last. No wonder, when the little shop man tries to match the splendor5 of the Provost's board. And Hodge the farmer's son spends money like a lord.

　　一只蛤蟆看見(jiàn)一只牯牛正在附近吃草，就想和他比試肥壯和大??；她是一只嫉妒心很強(qiáng)的蛤蟆。瞧，她正用盡全力喘息、鼓氣，挺肚皮呢。

　　“你看，蛤蟆姐姐，告訴我，我是不是和牯牛一樣大了？”她問(wèn)朋友。

　　“噢，沒(méi)那么大，親愛(ài)的，你還差得遠(yuǎn)呢。”

　　“你再瞧瞧，現(xiàn)在我鼓得更大了，看仔細(xì)點(diǎn)，跟我說(shuō)清楚。嘿，你看，怎么樣？我越來(lái)越大了吧？”

　　“看起來(lái)和剛才沒(méi)什么區(qū)別啊。”

　　“呃——那現(xiàn)在呢？”

　　“還是和原來(lái)的你一樣。”

　　最后，蛤蟆狂妄的行為超過(guò)了她的限度；她的肚皮永遠(yuǎn)不可能膨脹到牯牛那般大小；由于用力過(guò)猛，她的肚皮脹破了。

　　它不是第一個(gè)，也不是最后一個(gè)；小市民想和大富翁比比豪華，農(nóng)夫的兒子花錢(qián)像個(gè)王侯，這不足為奇。